


Home To You

by ShyRomantic



Category: Revolution (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Coffee, Confusion, Cross Country, Driving, F/M, Hiding, Humor, Love, Mystery, Romance, Running, Sass, Snark, nano - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-14
Updated: 2014-09-14
Packaged: 2018-02-17 08:17:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2302865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShyRomantic/pseuds/ShyRomantic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day started off like any other day. Any other day in someone else's life maybe. Charlie knows something is wrong but she can't figure out what it is. Bass feels strange but can't pin point the reason. Aaron knows what's going on and is afraid to say, will the others figure it out before it's to late?</p><p>Cross FF</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Charlie woke with a start, the first thing she noticed was lying on a soft surface, she didn't know why but it felt strange to her. Brushing off the weird feeling she stretched out while sinking into the mattress.

Rolling over she looked at the clock on her nightstand and sighed, nine-forty-five she had to get her ass out of bed, she already missed her first class, no point missing another. Dragging herself out of bed and making herself into a presentable human being took less time they she thought it would, it was ten fifteen and she was good to go, she'd grab food on her way and hope this class would be easy this morning.

She thumped into the kitchen grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. "Morning Charlie." She spun to locate the voice.

"What?" Danny asked pulling a spoon full of fruit loops to his mouth. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Charlie stood stairing at her brother bottle in hand, she knew there was something off about this, something that wasn't supposed to be. "Hi Danny." She moved around the counter so she was standing next to him, reaching out a hand she gently poked him. Yup, real.

Danny swatted at her hand and gave her a weird look. "What is your damage? Your being weird."

Charlie shook her head and turned away. "Nothing, I just have this weird feeling, like something is missing." She uncapped her bottle and chugged a few gulps down in an attempt to feel better. "I gotta go, I'm going to be late for my next class."

Danny waved at her as she left. "Don't forget Dad is doing BBQ for dinner, he wants you home for six!" He shouted after her.

Charlie nodded absently to herself as she closed the door, hopping down the few steps she went to her car and unlocked it, settling herself into the driver seat she turned the engine on and pulled away with a frown on her face. "What the hell is going on?" She muttered to herself. "I've gotta get it together."

Danny was standing in the window watching his sister leave when Ben entered the room. "Did everything go as planned?" He asked moving next to his son.

"I'm not sure. I believe she knows something isn't as it should be." Danny replied looking up at his father. "We need watch her closer, we can't have this falling apart before it had begun."

"I agree, hopefully the others have transitioned better." Ben said folding his hands behind his back. "Sebastian was also proving to be a difficult subject from what I understand."

Danny stepped away from the window into the living room, he took a seat on the couch. "I will gather reports on Rachel, Miles and Aaron as soon as possible. I feel Aaron might also be a problem, we've already used this on him he may not be as receptive as before. Priscilla as we know has a weak mind, she has not been a problem thus far." Danny explained.

Ben watched the people walking the streets outside. "We need this to work, controlling a few has been no problem, but we've never tested this on such a large scale, if this fails there is no hope for them."

Bass woke with a start, he hit his head as he sat up abruptly. "Son-of-a-bitch." Bass said rubbing his head roughly.

"That's what you get for falling asleep in the kids room." Came a laughing voice.

Wincing Bass tumbled out of the bunk bed and looked around frowning, looking up he saw Shelley standing in the doorway a little girl on her hip. "What happened?" He asked standing up brushing himself off.

"Abby begged for a story last night and you feel asleep half way through." She explained moving the child to the other side smiling. "I figured it was better to let you sleep there then try and drag you into our room."

Bass looked closer at the room, he was standing in what was clearly a child's room, a red bunk bed sat up against one wall blankets hung from the rungs on the top bunk making was he supposed was a fort. Toys littered the floor and hand painted animals and letters adorned the cheerful yellow walls.

Shelley gave him a weird look. "You ok?"

Rubbing a hand over his face he looked at his wife. "Sorry guess I'm tired, what time is it?" He asked leaning in to give her a kiss.

"It's nine forty-five why?" She asked lifting a hand to his face.

"I've got somewhere to be that's all, I promised Miles I would help him move, I've gotta go." He moved passed her out the door and down the hall. What was going on? why did he feel so weird?

He grabbed his coat and left the apartment. "Get it together Monroe." He said to himself as he made his way to his truck. Pulling out of the drive he didn't notice Shelley standing in the childs room watching him leave.

"We need to watch him." The girl in Shelley's arms said. "He knows."

"He doesn't know. It will be fine." She said looking down at her.

"All the same, he needs to be watched."

Miles rolled over in his tiny bed and came in contact with a warm body. "Morning." He mumbled as he pulled the body closer.

"Morning." Came the warm voice. "Moving day, you ready?"

Miles looked up into Nora's smiling face and propped himself up on one elbow. "I dunno... seems like a big commitment moving in with someone." He smirked.

Nora smacked his arm playfully. "Should have thought about that a month ago." Miles responded by pulling her closer and snuggling his face into her shoulder. "Come on it's almost ten Bass is supposed to be here any minute."

"I don't care." Miles whined. "He can wait."

Nora laughed and pushed him off of her. "Get up, I'm going to go shower, you better be ready when I get out." She said slipping out of bed and heading to the bathroom.

Miles watched her naked form walk from the room and he flopped into the bed as she left, a smile on his face and a content sigh leaving his lips. "How did I get so lucky?"

Nora's head popped back into the room. "You got lucky cause I put up with you, now get up." She disappeared again as Miles laughed and rolled out of bed.

"Today is gonna be a good day." He said stretching and getting dressed.

Rachel woke to the sounds of someone walking around her room, cracking her eyes open she saw her mother flinging the curtains open.

"Rachel, you need to get up." Charlotte Porter said standing next to her daughters bed hands on her hips. "The day has started without you and you're going to be late if you don't get up."

"Late? Late for what?" Rachel asked sitting up rubbing her eyes.

"You have that presentation for the government thing today, that's why you're here remember?"

Rachel lept out of bed. "Crap, I totally forgot!" She scrambled around the room gathering her clothes together. "Dad said I could borrow his car right?" She asked pulling a shirt over her head.

Charlotte laughed and stopped her daughters whirlwind movements. "Honey stop, your shirts on backwards." Charlotte tugged the shirt back over her daughters head. "You already set out an outfit, it's over there on the chair, relax you have two hours before the presentation, go take a shower and I've got your breakfast downstairs."

Rachel huffed and sat on the bed. "Why did you say I was going to be late then?" She asked looking at her mothers laughing face.

"Because you fall for it every time and it's funny." Charlotte sat next to her daughter. "You don't come home often so I have to bug you when I can." She was rewarded with an eye roll and a sigh.

"I'll try to bring the kids next time." Rachel said smiling at her mother.

"That would be nice. Now scoot, go get ready." She pushed her daughter off the bed and watched her shuffle into the bathroom.

So far her subject was coming along nicely, she would report as soon as she'd heard from the others.

Aaron's eyes snapped open the moment the sun hit his face, sitting up he looked around the room and his gut settled with dread, he knew this place he knew this feeling and he knew he was screwed.

"Priscilla?" He called tentatively.

"Sorry , has taken the children out for the day, she asked that I make sure you were ready for your meetings today." Came a distinctly familiar and british voice through the door.

"Uh, yah, okay. I'll be out in a minute just need to get dressed." Aaron said shaking.

This wasn't good, he wasn't prepared to hunt down Miles and Rachel again, he barely made it out the first time he didn't think he could do it again. He couldn't have everyone look at him like he was crazy when he told them it wasn't real.

He hastily dressed himself and made his way to the kitchen, the smell of pancakes meeting him at the corner. He tried to remind himself that this wasn't real, he also had to remind himself to play along with this or he could be in a lot of trouble.

"Priscilla make these?" He asked the blonde woman sitting at the counter.

"Yes." Maggie said not looking up from her computer. "She said they were blueberry."

Aaron's heart nearly stopped when he saw Maggie, he didn't want blow it though so he played it cool when he saw her sitting in his kitchen.

"Thanks." Aaron said stiffly.

" We have a meeting in just over an hour, would you like to go over the outline before hand?" she asked finally looking at him and smiling.

"Uh, yah. That would be nice." Aaron sat on the stool next to her and listened to her outline the meeting for the day and tried not to stare at her.

This was going to be tricky.


	2. Chapter 2

Charlie was sitting in class trying her damn best to pay attention, but other things kept pulling her mind away from the lecture happening fifteen feet from her. eventually she gave up trying and laid her head down on her desk. Failing to her tiredness she closed her eyes and dozed off to the soothing sounds of her professor.

'Charlie, just put the gun down.' She glanced at the man beside her, he was all curly blonde hair and pleading blue eyes. There was something in his voice, the look in his eyes that made her lower her arm and have her heart skip slightly faster then normal.

Suddenly she was standing in what looked like a school gym loud bangs ringing in the air around her, shouting and screaming joining the chaos that wouldn't seem to cease, her mind was racing and her heart was pounding. Looking to her left the blue eyed blonde man was watching her, and her heart jumped to her throat. 

Charlie jolted awake, she almost fell out of her chair as she sat up breathing hard. "What the hell." she whispered to herself. The dreams she had felt so real, like they were memories not dreams, but they couldn't be real she'd never held a gun in her life, and she'd never seen the blue eyed man before. Glancing around the room to see if anyone had noticed her spaz-out she was relieved that no one was staring at her or whispering anything. looking towards the clock above the door she caught a glimpse of a tall man with blonde curls and her heart lurched into her throat. Charlie grabbed her bag and book and rushed from the room after the blonde haired man. 

"Hey!" She shouted. "Hey wait up!" She ran after the man her backpack bouncing awkwardly against her.

The man stopped and turned to her giving her a strange look, the eye's looking back at her were brown and not blue and her heart dropped. It wasn't the man from her dream, she didn't know why she thought it would be. "Sorry." She mumbled stepping back from him. "You look like someone else, sorry." She mumbled again, turning she hurried down the hall and rounded a corner, throwing herself against the wall she breathed deeply and closed her eyes. "Something is not right." She whispered to herself. "I need to find that blue eyed guy." She whispered again.

She decided she was done with her school day and left campus behind, throwing her stuff on the back seat she hopped into her car and sat for a moment thinking about everything that had just happened. She wanted to go home and talk to her brother about the weirdness that was happening, but she felt there was something off about him even being there. She didn't know what it was but she felt this whole situation was wrong.

Maybe she should call Miles and see what he thinks. No, shit she can't call him, he's moving today, crap. Charlie slammed her hand down on the steering wheel, she'd never felt so alone and lost in such a long time, she didn't know what to do. "Fuck it." She said pulling the car out of it's spot. "I'm going to go help Miles move." With that she left the school and went to Miles' old apartment.

~~~

The meetings Aaron had to attend were always mind numbingly boring, sometimes he hated being the smartest person in the room. He had to listen to people dumb things down for the less... intellegent people who attended the meetings and it drove him up the wall. He couldn't care less about the shit they were talking about today, what he wanted to do was go home and gather his shit so he could get out of here.

He had no idea where to start, He knew he wasn't the only one in this dream world this time. He knew that he needed to get everyone out but he needed to find them first and he had no clue where they would be this time, it wasn't like Charlie was just going to appear like before.

"Listen, I trust you guys, so I'm going to have to call it a day, I a have a few things I have to take care of today so I leave this meeting in the capable hands of Ms. Foster." Aaron explained as he slowly got up and gathered his things. 

"But-" One of the board members started. 

"Nope, gotta go, sorry." Aaron exited the room and dashed down the hall. "Welp, gotta find Charlie and hope for the best." He said sprinting past his office into the elevator. He leaned against the wall breathing hard, not from the sprinting he'd gotten pretty used to that over the last two years, he was absolutely terrified, he knew if the nano figured out he knew what was going on he'd be screwed and having them tailing you was not something he wanted to experience again. 

He sat in his car hands on the wheel staring out the window. "God damnit!" He shouted at himself. "How the hell am I supposed to find them?!" He slammed his hands on the steering wheel. He knew nothing about them pre-blackout, let alone what they would be doing at this age if the power was still back on.

Facebook. He knew this whole place was just one big dream sequence but maybe Charlie had a facebook, he could track her down that way... maybe...

He decided he needed to find somewhere a little more secluded, he didn't know who was watching him. Maggie was clearly not here to help him so he needed to get as far from her as possible, even if it broke his heart to leave her behind again. He drove about two hours outside town and pulled off to the side of the road before he pulled out his laptop and phone and started searching. He tried googling her first, he didn't know why but he felt it was something he should try.

Her facebook page was the first thing that came up in a stroke of luck, and in his luck was was still using Charlie and not Charlotte. He browsed her profile hoping to come up lucky again and find her address or phone number. He didn't find either of these things but she had apparently checked into one particular coffee shop a bunch of times so he went there to wait and see if she showed up there.

Aaron was going to sit here all day if he had to, he wasn't going to leave until he could see Charlie again, the not knowing what was happening to them was killing him.

~

Charlie sat on a swing shuffling her feet trying to decide what she was going to to. Normally she would talk to her dad about what was bothering her, but she couldn't escape the feeling that maybe this one wasn't for him. Her next move was to talk to Miles but she was so on the fence about whether or not she should bother him when he was moving.

Her choice was made for her how ever when her phone buzzed in her pocket, pulling it out she looked at the light up screen and smiled. Miles Matheson with a picture of her and him making silly faces covered in what looked like cake blinked up at her, she ran a finger across the screen and answered cheerfully. 

"Hey Miles!" Charlie smiled despite herself, he was the closest thing she had to a best friend these days.

Miles laughed on the other end. "Hey kid. What are you up to?" 

"Nothing right now, I'm sitting in a park enjoying this beautiful day." She swung her legs out in front of herself.

"In a park when you could be helping your dear old uncle move all of his heavy furniture?" Miles feigned hurt. "Wait aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Personal day." Charlie said chuckling. "And your not old, you need to stop saying that." 

"What ever you say kid, but these old bones say otherwise." Miles sounded weary but happy. "How about you come hang out with us, Nora says she wants to see you, and I need a beer run."

"Really Miles, it's barely noon." Charlie said quietly judging.

Miles sighs sadly. "Pleeeease? Your dear uncle would love you eternally if you got him some beer." 

Charlie laughed and agreed. "Alright, alright. I'll get your beer, I'll see you in an hour?" 

"Sounds fantastic!" She could hear the smile through the phone, she got directions to the new apartment and set on her way to the liquor store. 

Her problem was solved, she didn't need to worry about bothering Miles now, he asked her to come to him and that was exactly what she was going to do, and if she got a chance to talk about what was bothering her then all the better.


	3. Chapter 3

Bass and Miles sat on the balcony enjoying the breeze and a break when Miles' phone buzzed. "Hey kid." He answers. "Where you at?" Miles gets up and leans over the railing and waves. "Yah I'll buzz you up." He hung up his phone and smiled at Bass. "Charlie's here, I'll be right back." Bass watched his friend disappear through the billowing white curtain, then back out at the city.

He heard the muffled talking between Miles and who he assumed was Charlie, The curtain whipped open and Miles stood smiling as Charlie's head popped through he space under his raised arm. Charlie's smile dropped as she stood up smashing her head on the bottom of Miles' arm.

Bass looked back her wide eyed and stunned. Miles looked between them confused.

"Bass?" Charlie asked stepping through the sliding door.

Bass stood up and faced her, reaching out her touched her shoulder lightly. "Charlie..." He said softly.

"Wait, what? you guys know each other?" Miles asked rubbing his arm confused.

"No..." Charlie said frowning, never taking her eyes off the blue eyed man in front of her.

"Charlotte..." Bass said slowly, as if testing the name on his tongue.

Charlie started back eyes wide as she looked up at him. "Monroe!" She said breathing hard.

"Are you guys just going to stand there and say each others names over and over?" Miles asked confused and slightly uncomfortable.

"I remember!" She reached out and grabbed at Bass' shirt ignoring Miles. A flood of memories assaulted her as she looked between Miles and Bass. "What the hell is going on..." She asked raising a hand to her forehead while the other was still locked firmly in Bass' shirt.

Bass' eyes also widened in surprise at Charlies intensity. "Remember what?" He asked holding Charlie's hand to his chest.

"You, Miles, everything. This isn't right, we're not supposed to be here." She said looking up at him again.

"What do you mean?" Miles asked stepping closer.

"The last time I saw you, you were coming out of the barn after having a fight with mom." She said looking at Miles. "And the last time I saw you..." She blinked at Bass. "You were across the field, we were going to go hunting and there was this bright flash and next thing I know I'm waking up in a bed..." Charlie trailed off as she lifted her hands to her mouth covering it.

"What? Charlie what's wrong?" Bass asked turning her towards him again.

Charlie's eyes filled with tears. "Danny, he was sitting in the kitchen..."

Miles looked at her confused. "So?"

She turned back to her uncle, her shoulder brushing Bass' chest as she wobbled. "He's dead, come on Miles you have to remember that, you were there." She was desperate for him to remember. "Monroe's men killed him, we watched it happen."

Bass looked at Charlie stunned. "My men? What?"

Charlie pulled up her sleeve to reveal the burn mark on her wrist, at first she just stared at unmarred skin confused, but the M mark soon appeared causing Miles and Bass to lean in in stunned silence.

Bass looked at it for a moment before his own mind was flooded with memories. "Oh god..." He said stepping away from Charlie and leaning against the railing.

"What?" Charlie asked reaching out a hand to him.

"Shelley... She's here to, she died giving birth to our daughter, who just happens to be here as well." Bass rubbed his hand over his face in grief. "Why are they here."

Miles looked between them confused, they were talking in complete riddles to him, he had no other memories other then being here with Nora. "What is wrong with you two, have you both gone insane?"

"Miles you have to remember, come on." Charlie urged. "We've been together for almost two years, I came to you when my dad died and Danny was taken, we spent the better part of a year tracking him down and getting him back, he died the day after we got him." Charlie thought explaining all this would jog his memory but he just gave her a blank look.

Bass chimed in. "We ran a militia together for ten years Miles, you ran our training."

"Why the hell would we be running a militia?" Miles asked looking even more confused.

"Because." Charlie said softly. "The power has been out for fifteen years, you wanted to keep people safe, and that was the only way you could think of to do it."

Miles stepped back to lean against the building. "I don't get what you guys are talking about, the power clearly isn't out." He said gesturing to the city bellow them.

Neither got a chance to reply as Nora's head appeared through the curtains. "Hey guys." Nora said smiling. "What's going on?" She stepped through the door and looked from face to face.

"Nothing." Charlie said smiling weakly at her, the pain she felt at seeing her friend was almost as hard as knowing that her brother was sitting at home and none of it was real. "Just getting to know Bass here." She said gesturing to said man.

Bass looked down at her and smiled. "Charlie is a fresh of breath air." Bass laughed. "Compared to Miles that is." He winked at Nora gestured his hands towards the doorway. "Shall we continue this move thing? since you know... that's kind of the entire reason we are here."

The three of them didn't get a chance to get away from Nora again for two more hours, during that time how ever Miles kept shooting Bass and Charlie skeptical looks when Nora wasn't paying attention.

"Look." Miles whispered as they waited for Nora to pull the truck around. "I don't know what's going on with you two, but what ever prank your playing on me it needs to stop." He said giving them both a hard look.

"Miles I swear, we're not playing a joke on you." Charlie pleaded. "We need you to remember, if you don't you might get stuck here, and I'm not leaving here without you." She said fiercely.

"I'm not leaving without you either." Bass said crossing his arms.

"Fine." Miles huffed, "you won't leave without me, but I'm not leaving Nora behind either, and don't think I haven't noticed that neither of you has mentioned her."

Charlie looked up at Bass with a worried expression, how do they tell him that Nora was dead, that she wasn't waiting for him on the other side. "Miles..." Bass said looking away from Charlie. "She... she can't come with us, not this time." He said gently.

"What do you mean?" Miles asked angrily.

Nora pulled up in the truck and hopped out. "You guys ready for another round?" She asked smiling at the trio in front of her, her smile faltered as she saw Miles' angry face. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing." Miles said abruptly. "Can I just meet you at the new place?" He asked stepping up to her. "I'm going to get us some lunch, you go and relax." He said kissing her on the forehead.

"I'll come with you." Charlie said piping up.

"Me to." Bass said stepping up behind Charlie.

Miles turned and glared at them both. "How 'bout I go get us some drinks then meet you back at the apartment." Nora offered.

"Sounds perfect." Miles said softening at her smile. "Come on." He said turning to Charlie and Bass, who followed him to his car. "Now." He said calmly once they were out of Nora's earshot. "Want to explain to me what the fuck you mean that Nora can't come with us to where ever the hell you think we're supposed to go?" He eyed Charlie through the rear view mirror, who in return fidgeted in her seat.

"Miles, it seems like this is something done by the Nano... and if that's the case they're using people who we love and have died as a means to keep us here, they know we wouldn't want to leave them." Bass explained sadly. "Shelley and our daughter died two years after the blackout, Danny was killed by gunfire almost a year ago." He gestured to Charlie. "They were both people who meant the world to us, and..." He stopped almost unable to keep going.

"Nora... She was travelling with us and she was killed about a year ago... She's your distraction, your loved one." Charlie explained her voice wobbling with sadness.

Miles' knuckles turned white at the grip on the steering wheel as he pulled over to the side. "Well this is just spectacular." He said rubbing the heel of his hand into one eye.

"What?" Charlie asked leaning over the back of his seat. "Are you ok?"

"Yah... I'm fine, just a lovely flood of shitty memories..." He leaned his head forward on the steering wheel. "You're a jackass by the way." He said peering at Bass who just smirked at him.

"There is a pretty stellar coffee shop just a block or so from here from what my fake memories tell me, you interested in getting caffeinated?" Charlie asked leaning against the seats.

"Only if it comes Irish." Miles said sitting up and smiling at his niece over his shoulder.

Bass laughed as Charlie sat back and smiled, they had a collective sigh of relief now that all the three of them had their own memories back. "Alright, coffee it is."

Aaron sat in the coffee shop waiting for any sign of Charlie, his growing pile of coffee cups and pastry bags were almost concerning but he'd been sitting here for hours already and it seemed like she wasn't going to show up.

He was wrong how ever, as a car pulled into the parking space in front of the shop and three so very familiar people got out, he watched at Bass leaned over the top of the car as he said something to Miles and Charlie laughed as she walked behind him, reaching out she subtly touched his back and he looked back at her smirking, she jerked her head towards the coffee shop while Miles and Bass slammed doors and walked into the shop.

Aaron was at a loss, did he get up and go talk to her? Would she even know who he was? If she didn't would she just think he was some freak who knew everything about her?

He got his answer as they walked in the door and Charlie looked around, her eyes fell on him and her smile slipped from her face as her eyes widened. "Aaron?"


	4. Chapter 4

Aaron stood suddenly, knocking the pastry bags on the floor as he took a step towards Charlie.

"Charlie." He breathed. "Do you know who I am?" He asked reaching a hand out to her.

Charlie ran forward and threw herself into his arms. "Of course I know who you are you idiot." She hugged him tightly.

"Do you know what's going on?" He asked warily, he still wasn't completely sure how much she knew about anything, they stepped apart so he could look at her.

"Kind of... All of us seem to have someone from our past here... Bass has his wife and daughter, Nora is here for Miles... and I have Danny and Dad." She said looking down at the floor.

Aaron's face fell at the mention of Danny, Nora and Ben. "Oh Charlie I'm sorry... I had Maggie following me around all morning." He said laying a hand on her shoulder. "Wait." He looked over Charlie's shoulder at Miles and Bass. "You we're married?" He asked rising an eyebrow at the now suddenly uncomfortable looking Bass.

"It was a long time ago, I lost them both." He said shifting on his feet as he glared at Aaron. "It was after the blackout, not exactly the best medical care."

Miles looked at his brother who just shrugged in acceptance. "So do you have any idea why this is happening?" Miles asked crossing his arms.

"I might, but we need to talk somewhere less crowded." Aaron said shifting his gaze to the people around them, none of them seemed to be paying attention but he knew better then to take the risk. "The last time something like this happened I got chased down and I dunno about you guys but even in my mind I don't like running." He said smiling at Charlie.

Charlie crossed her arms and looked around at her friends. "Alright, but where are we going to go?" She asked shrugging.

"We need to find Rachel, if you all got sucked in guaranteed she's here somewhere to..." Aaron trailed off. "Wait, has she ever said where her favourite place was? Or if she misses someone a lot? " He asked looking from Charlie to Miles.

Miles shrugged, "when we first got to her dads she said she missed being there when she was younger."

"She was telling me stories about my grandmother before I left, I think she regretted not seeing her more before the blackout." Charlie explained.

"She's probably in Willoughby then, and she's probably with her mother, that's where we have to go, I saw you guys have a car it's going to be a trip to get there think we can make it?" Aaron asked picking up his coffee cup.

Bass smirked and moved towards the counter. "We're all about cross country treks aren't we? At least this time we have a car, and I'm getting myself a coffee before we go, this may all be in my head but I seriously need some."

"I second that, Charlie I'm getting you a coffee, you need to taste what real, delicious coffee tastes like before this is over." Miles said joining Bass at the counter.

Charlie rolled her eyes and sat at the table Aaron had previously been sitting at. "So Aaron what were you doing here?" She asked fiddling with a napkin.

"I was waiting for you, I was hoping that I would run into you here." He explained shrugging.

Charlie smiled at him. "I'm glad you know what's going on, having to try and get Miles to remember was hard." She said looking down at the table. "I didn't want him to remember that Nora died, or that nothing was the way it should be." She pulled her hands into her lap as she spoke, she felt so guilty for some reason and it made her feel uncomfortable.

"I know." Aaron said also looking down at the table, "I've been here before, and I know the feeling..." He told her quietly, looking up he smirked at her. "Last time I was here though you were the one pulling me through, you really thought I was an idiot cause I didn't know what was going on. You looked really badass shooting people with a crossbow in the middle of the city though." He told her laughing.

"What?" Charlie asked laughing, a confused look across her face.

Aaron leaned on the table as he continued. "You were a figment of my imagination so it wasn't real, but you were kinda mean, guess it's how I imagine you think of me when I say something stupid or act like a chicken."

"I never think your an idiot Aaron." She said smiling at him reassuringly. "A chicken yes, but never an idiot." She laughed at the face he made. "Thanks for coming for me." She smiled shyly. "But how do you know I'm not in your imagination this time?" She asked curiously.

"Hmm..." He hummed grabbing at his beard. "Tell me something I couldn't possibly know." He offered waving his hand at her as if to offer.

"I think I might be in love with someone." She said quietly.

Aaron's eyes went wide as he stared at her. "Really? With who?" He leaned forward as he whispered.

Charlie's eyes flicked over his shoulder towards the men chatting and laughing at the bar, something that didn't go unnoticed by Aaron. "Really?" He breathed.

"Don't say anything, please, I'm only telling you because I trust you, and its probably the one thing you don't know." She smirked.

Aaron flopped back into his chair and looked at Charlie. "How long has this been going on?" He asked scratching the back of his head thoughtfully.

"Few months, nothing has happened I swear." She said leaning into the table. "We've just been spending more time together lately, and I'm seeing more of the guy I think he used to be, and after everything we've been through I'm finding it harder and harder to separate who he was from who he is. We've all made mistakes and god knows my hands aren't as clean as they used to be. He had to make some seriously hard choices in his life and they weren't necessarily the best ones but whose to say we wouldn't have made the same ones in his position."

Aaron's eyebrows shot into his hair. "You've really thought about this." He said crossing his arms.

"Not a whole lot else to do these days, before all this." She gestured to the coffee shop around them. "There hasn't been much to do, I mostly just hunt and gather supplies." She sighed and leaned back into her chair.

"I guess... Does he treat you alright?" Aaron asked seriously.

"He doesn't know, so please, just keep this to yourself." Charlie pleaded.

"Who doesn't know what?" Miles asked suddenly appearing beside Charlie as he handed her a drink.

Charlie looked up at Miles wide eyed, unable to form words quickly has always been her downfall.

"Gene, he doesn't know about some of Charlie's supply runs takes her to the more dangerous places, she doesn't want him to worry about it, and frankly I think she's right. No need worrying the old man if there's no reason to." Aaron said smoothly.

Miles sipped his coffee. "Monroe is usually with her, I can see why he'd worry. Good call." He placed a hand on Charlie's shoulder and smiled. "You ready kid? Lets get outta here and go find your mom." He stepped out of the way as Charlie gathered herself and got up.

"Shot gun." Monroe said smirking at Aaron.

"Damnit." Aaron said frowning. Fine.

Charlie looked at Miles and rolled her eyes. "Alright children let's go." She said pushing them towards the doors.

After getting settled into their seats Charlie finally tried the drink Miles had plunked into her hand. "This is amazing what is it?" She said looking at the side of the cup like it was going to reveal all its secrets to her.

"That is just a vanilla latte, nothing special." He said looking at her through the review mirror.

"It's delicious, thanks Miles." She said smiling into her cup.

Miles just smirked as he pulled out of the parking spot. Half an hour into their drive it finally dawned on him that he had forgotten about Nora. "Shit." He muttered.

"What?" Bass asked looking at his frowning friend.

"I forgot about Nora, she's waiting for us at the apartment. Do you think it's going to be a problem?" He asked Aaron through the mirror.

"It might, if she's designed to keep track of you then yes, she's probably already reported you missing and we might get tracked down. How fast can you make it to Willoughby?"

"It's a five hour drive from here, I can probably make it in four, we might draw attention to ourselves though."

"Do it." Aaron looked angry and it surprised and freaked out Charlie a little bit, but she liked this side of him, it was new and mildly exciting.

"Done."

After three and a half more hours of driving they were almost there, Miles was getting more and more anxious the closer they got to their destination, He didn't know what kind of state Rachel would be in, or how she would feel if they had to break the news to her that none of this was real. "Hey Aaron you never said anything about Priscilla, why didn't we track her down first?" Miles asked curiously.

"She's been here before, I'm hoping she knows what going on, or has gotten out some how." Aaron said simply. "If we track down Rachel the chances of getting us all out is much higher."

"Why did you come for me first then?" Charlie asked tilting her head at him.

"I needed to know you were okay, and you were the most likely person to know where she would be, having the other two here was just a bonus." He smiled at her.

She smiled back and nodded accepting his reasons.

"How are we going to handle this if she doesn't remember, if Charlotte is her watcher then we're going to have to tread carefully." Monroe said leaning to look at Charlie and Aaron.

"We're just going to have to figure it out when we get there, there isn't much we can do until we know the situation." Miles replied. "We're about forty-five minutes out, so lets just not stress about it right now." He waved his hand in what he hoped was a calming manor, it wasn't how he was feeling but he couldn't have everyone else getting all worked up when he needed to calm himself.

Miles felt a small hand land on his shoulder, reaching up he grasped at it smiling, turning his head he looked at Bass who smiled back at him. Things weren't the way they normally were, and no Rachel wasn't with them but this was the first time he actually felt whole in a long time, he had his niece he had his best friend and hell he even had Aaron.

"We always figure it out." Charlie's soft voice floated around the car.

"Always." Monroe repeated.

And for once, Miles believed it.


	5. Chapter 5

They pulled up outside of Rachel's childhood home, all four people sat in the car staring up at the looming house having mixed feelings about the situation. They all knew without a doubt that Rachel was inside that house, but the last time three of them had seen her Miles and her were in a loud and angry fight.

The sky was starting to darken before anyone made a move to get out of the car. " Alright that's it, I'm going up there, how do we know that she doesn't know what's going on?" Charlie said clicking open her door, she slammed it behind her and moved towards the front of the car. Bass scrambled for the door and raced to meet her.

"Wait, Charlie, we have to take this slow." He said running a hand down her arm. "What if she isn't ready to wake up and realize that everything she knows is fake."

Charlie frowned at him. "And what? I was so ready to lose my dad and brother all over again, Bass I'd give anything to see them again and have them be them." She pulled her arm from his grasp. "Nothing is going to bring them back and I know that, I'd rather know for sure then be fed stories and lies."

Bass watched her, hurt evident in both of them. "I understand that. But if you haven't noticed you're much more rational then your mother." He smirked as she huffed a small laugh. "There that, I like that." He brushed some hair behind her ear, completely oblivious to the fact that Aaron and Miles were still sitting in the car watching them.

Miles looked through the rear view mirror at Aaron. "Do you know anything about this?" He asked glaring back at Bass.

"Not a damn thing." Aaron said hastily as he jumped out of the car.

Sitting for a moment Miles watched Aaron whisper something in Charlie's ear as she stepped away from Bass. "These people are the worst liars I have ever met." He muttered to himself as he got out of the car and joined them. "Alright, shall we do this? Go and see what kind of life these nano assholes have cooked up for her?"

Charlie looked towards the house, steeled her shoulders and made for the steps. "Let's just hope she doesn't assume she has little kids still." She said throwing a grin back at them.

Aaron smiled and waited for Bass and Miles to follow her up the porch. He stood behind the three as Charlie raised her fist to knock on the door when it suddenly flew open and Charlie's grandmother was standing faced away from them. "Gene I'll be back in a bit I'm just running to the store." She turned and almost plowed into her granddaughter. "Charlie?" She stood back and stared at her for a moment.

Charlie lurched forward throwing her arms around her grandmother, Bass reached out to stop her but dropped his arm at the last second.

"What are you doing here sweetheart?" Charlotte asked with an amused laugh.

"I miss you." Charlie murmured into her grandmothers shoulder.

Miles looked over at Bass who shrugged back at him, they were both thinking the same thing, this was harder on Charlie then she was letting on and neither really knew how to make it better for her.

Charlotte backed away from Charlie and looked over the younger woman's shoulder. "Miles." She said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I drove." He said smiling back. "Bass here needed a ride out this direction anyways so I thought I'd give Charlie a lift, her mom is staying here right?" He tried to be nonchalant about asking.

Charlotte narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Miles before nodding slightly. "She is."

Aaron stepped forward a little. "Perfect, I'm one of her co-workers something came up and I needed to talk to her. She hasn't been answering her phone so I hitched a ride." He reached out a hand smiling. "My name is Aaron by the way."

Charlotte looked at him stunned for a moment before stepping aside and letting the group into her home. "Uh, well I was about to go shopping for supper, Rachel should be back in an hour or so from her meeting, you're all welcome to come in and wait." Her southern manners kicked in and smiled at everyone walking them towards the living room. Charlie was the first to see her grandpa sitting in a chair in front of the T.V.

Charlie stopped in her tracks, Bass bumped into her, she turned her head looking up at him. "Why didn't I think he would be here?" She whispered at him. Bass looked over at Miles and Aaron who both were also staring at Gene, he wrapped his fingers over her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly.

Gene looked over at Charlie and the men behind her, lifting a finger he brought it to his lips as if to say quite while Charlotte's back was turned. The group stood stunned. "Alright, Gene, I'm heading to the store I'll be back in about an hour." She smiled and hurried out the door leaving the five of them staring at each other.

"I take it, from the fact that the four of you are together that you know about what's going on?" Gene said standing up.

"We do, does Rachel?" Miles asked stepping around Charlie.

Gene shook his head sadly. "There's something off about Charlotte so I've been trying to be careful what I say around her."

Aaron nodded. "Good call, we figure they're here to keep watch on us, I think it's some sort of experiment, it's not the first time they've done something like this. He ran a hand through his shaggy hair. I'm pretty sure the people who are supposed to be watching the four of us have noticed we're gone, good chances Charlotte is about to check in."

"I take it things are going to get ugly?" Bass asked crossing his arms.

"Wait, wait, wait." Charlie said waving her hands around. "How do you know what's going on?" Gene looked down sadly. "Your heart never forgets the pain of losing the person you love most in this world." He swiped a hand across his mouth. "The moment I saw her I just knew."

Charlie looked down sadly. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Gene said smiling reassuringly at her. "Now about Rachel, she has no idea what's going on and I have no idea how to get her to wake up, anyone got any plans."

The four of them shook their heads in response. "We've got to figure something out soon though." Miles said sounding exhausted.

"When is she supposed to be back?" Charlie asked moving to sit on the couch, Bass trailing behind her.

"Any minute now." Gene sat back in his chair, Miles just stood leaning against the door frame and Aaron sat on Charlie's other side.

The five of them just sat in contemplative silence while they waited for Rachel or Charlotte to return. The wait wasn't long how ever as Rachel called from the front door. "Dad?" They heard a door close and Rachel fumbling in the hall, Charlie stood as Rachel entered the room. "Charlie?" She said stunned, she looked around the room and saw three familiar faces and Aaron's. "Miles what are you doing here?"

Miles opened his mouth to respond when Aaron jumped to his feet. "Shit." He said quietly.

All heads turned to him. "What's wrong?" Gene asked making a move as if to get up.

"They're here. We don't have time to figure this out."

All heads in the room moved again as they heard a crash at the front door. Aaron raised his hand. "Wait, this might be what we need... A jolt will wake us up in our world."

Miles turned to Aaron. "Are you sure about that? Because I'm not letting them kill me without being a hundred percent sure of that."

He shuffled from one foot to the other. "I'm pretty sure, this is just all in our heads right, it's not like it can actually kill us right?" He was nervous and unsure, he was so sure that this was what could get them out, but with Miles breathing down on him he was feeling like maybe he was wrong.

"Nope, fuck that, not good enough. Miles grabbed Rachel and pushed her towards the back door. Let's go, I'm not waiting around for shit to hit the fan. Bass stood pulling Charlie along behind him. Miles burst through the back door, everyone else filed through behind him.

"Miles what do we do?" Charlie called to him two people behind.

"We run, until we can find some weapons and fight back we just run." He kicked open the back gate and they all ran after him.

Aaron paused. "Wait wait wait." Bass looked back at him, "what are you doing?"

"You just need to think of what you want and it'll show up, it's what happened last time, I gave you my memories of you and suddenly you guys had your weapons back."

They all gave him a puzzled look. "It's in our heads right, just think of the weapon you want and poof its in your hand."

Charlie looked down at her hands and he was right, 'poof' her crossbow was sitting there loaded and ready to fire. "What the hell." She whispered.

The backdoor to the house banged open again and everyone turned to see a commando guy standing gun aimed at them. Charlie raised her crossbow and fired. "I think now would be a good time to run." She said grinning at the others, everyone nodded stunned and bolted through the yards.

Twenty-minutes later they were huffing and puffing in a shed. "Well this is just spectacular what the hell are we supposed to do?" Miles stood with a hand on the wall as he leaned into it.

"Can someone please explain what's going on?" Rachel asked throwing her hands in the air. "Why is my daughter shooting people, who are you, and since when have you two been so close?" She asked pointing her hands in their directions.

Miles stepped up and ran his hands down her arms. "None of this makes sense because none of this is real." He said trying to sound calm. "The power has been out for almost seventeen years, you're not working for the government anymore, and your daughter is shoot people because that's what we do to survive now. Its us or them."

Rachel's look of confusion deepened before it changed into a look of surprise. Miles stepped back and looked down, Rachel's chest had suddenly bloomed a red patch. Swaying a little she looked down and touched her chest before falling to her knees. "Rachel!" Miles dropped to his knees next to her catching her before she hit the ground, he gripped her tight running a hand over her cheek. Her eyes rolled back and he placed her on the ground, when he looked back up he was beyond furious and everyone in the shed could feel it. He burst through the door to the shed before anyone could stop him.

"What do you want from us!" He shouted at the row of armed men standing before him. "Why us?"

A man in a suit stepped through and smiled at him. "We wanted to experiment Miles, we wanted to know if our powers over the mind we're strong enough yet., particularly over your minds." He said waving a hand at the group that joined Miles. "Clearly we underestimated your attachment to violence and anger." He folded his fingers together before himself and took another few steps forward.

"Now this one." He circled closer until was only two feet from Charlie.

"Stay away from her." Miles ground out, he didn't move as he balled his hands into fists.

"This one isn't attached to her anger." He reached out and flicked her hair over her shoulder as he moved closer ignoring Miles. "No this one..." He smiled as she looked away from him. "She's in love, that's what pulled her back." Charlie bowed her head, she didn't want anything coming out. "I'm in your head darling. I know everything there is to know about all of you." He turned and looked at the rest of them.

"You didn't answer me, what do you want from us." Miles reached out and pulled Charlie away from the man in the suit.

The man in the suit shook his head still smiling that infuriating smile. "What I want, is for your destructive kind to stop. You suffer and kill needlessly, we can make a life for you that has none of that, you will be happy."

"But that's not real, that's not a life." Charlie said angrily from her uncles side. "Life is being angry and destructive and to suffer, that's part of being human."

"Wouldn't you rather be happy and content all the time?"

"Not if it meant I didn't have choices, you earn happiness by being a good person not because you're told you have to be."

The man's smile faltered.

"Is my mother dead?" Charlie asked just above a whisper.

Before she got an answer Aaron dropped to the ground behind them. "Aaron!" Charlie tore away from Miles and dropped beside him. "What did you do to him?" She looked up at the man in the suit who only continued to smile at her.


	6. Chapter 6

-Rachel-

Rachel woke with a start, she opened her eyes to the bright light of the sun above her, and the hard ground below her. Taking a moment before sitting up she listened and tilted her head to look around. She was home, her real life. The shed she was standing in not moments before was gone and she was lying on the ground outside the house everyone had settled in for the time being.

Sighing she rolled and got up, she needed to figure out how to get everyone else back. She knew they were physically here, but mentally they were trapped. Brushing herself off she flicked her hair over her shoulder and looked around. She needed to find Aaron he would know what to do in this situation. Stumbling around the side of the house she leaned against the door frame as she pushed the door open with her heavy arms. She had no idea how long she was lying on the ground but her limbs felt stiff and heavy. 

“Christ.” She mumbled as she heaved the door shut behind her. “Aaron better be in here.” She stomped her foot on the floor boards to try and get her legs working properly. After giving herself a minute to recoup she made her way upstairs. Gripping the railing her frustration at her lack of muscle movement grew. She opened the first door to the bathroom, no luck, the second door however lead to Aaron's room and there he was lying on the floor. Flash backs to the night Aaron was killed, chest slashed open darted across her memory and she closed her eyes for a moment trying to rid herself of the horrible night.

Aaron's chest rose and fell with the steady pace, assuring Rachel that Aaron was physically alright. “How the hell am I going to wake him up…” She paced back and forth, running her hands through her hair she looked down at Aaron. Getting down beside him she sighed. “Can you just wake up for me?” No response. “Didn't think so…”

She looked around the room, maybe a jolt would wake him up. She stood up again, she needed to think about this, in the mean time she'd go look for everyone else.

Sprinting back down the stairs she burst through the door. “Where are you Charlie?” She mumbled to herself. Shielding her eyes from the sun she peered around the field before her. To the left of the door she was standing in was the barn, it stood tall, on the ground at the big doors to the barn laid Miles, she dashed over to him and checked his pulse and breathing. “Good, you're alright too.” Brushing his hair away from his face she smiled and stood again. And resumed looking for her daughter.

She finally spotted Charlie splayed out on the ground down by the shed, the grass was so tall she almost missed her black boots poking through. “Hey there baby girl.” Rachel said kneeling down beside her daughter. “I'll get you out of there I promise.” She straightened her daughters limbs out to keep them from being sore when she woke up. Standing up and looking at her daughter once more looked around, she was looking mostly to see if it seemed like anything was weird or off. Everything looked fine she saw Bass lying near the side of the house a pack lying beside him. “I'll deal with you later.” She mumbled as she moved back into the house to try and wake up Aaron. 

“Hmm…” She paced the room at Aaron's feet trying to figure out if she could even wake him up “Let's see if this works.” She reached under Aaron's arms and heaved him up as far as she could lift him. “I'm sorry please don't hate me.” She quickly stepped back and dropped him back to ground. He gasped and his eyes snapped open.

“Aaron!” She shouted gleefully.

“What the hell.” He said hauling himself off the ground. “My head.” He groaned rubbing his hand over a new sore spot on the back of his head.

“Sorry, I was hoping a jolt would wake you up. And it did!”

“Did you drop me?” Aaron asked leaning against his dresser.

Rachel smiled at him, “I may have.”

Aaron sighed and looked around his room. “So I assume that this is real life and the others are probably standing around a now lifeless body?”

“Probably. But I can’t just drop everyone on their head and hope they wake up, Charlie has been through a lot I don’t want to risk damaging her brain more then it already is. I’ve heard about her gunshot wound and the head injury that went a long with it.”

“Hm… True, and who knows what kind of damage Miles as done to his whiskey soaked brain.” Aaron agreed.

Rachel moved towards the door and Aaron followed her down the stairs. “What I was hoping was that you have fought this thing before, maybe you know how to get everyone else out of this dream world their in.”

Aaron frowned at the memories. “Well… I didn’t really find a way out, they kind of tricked me into fixing itself and then it let me go out of pity.” They sat at the table in the kitchen and pondered their next move.

~Everyone else~

Miles stood over Charlie and Aaron. “What the fuck have you done.” He demanded of the man in the suit.

“I have done nothing. What ever happened he must have done it to himself.” The man in the suit smirked.

Charlie was kneeling next to Aaron’s apparent lifeless body. She glared at the man int he suit and ground out, “You son of a bitch, what the hell do you want, what ever experiment you were trying to do it’s not going to work! We already know everything!” She was on her feet, yelling in his face. 

The man shrugged and continued to smile his infuriating smile. “True, but it doesn’t mean we can’t try again, we merely need to wipe your memories and move on form this little hiccup.” 

Miles stepped back and in front of Charlie and Bass. “I’d kill you before I let you use us for your twisted games.” He turned towards Bass, Charlie and Gene. “Lets get the hell out of here.” He muttered at them.

Before anyone had a chance to react or think Miles grabbed Charlies had and bolted passed the armed guards, Bass Charlie and Miles managed to slip by unscathed, Gene however wasn’t as fast as the other three and was shot before he made it to the fence. Charlie stopped when she heard the gun go off and saw her grandfather fall to his knees. 

“No!” Charlie screamed moving to head back, she ripped her hand from Miles’ grip, she didn’t make it far as Bass grabbed her around her middle and pulled her away. “Charlie we can’t help him, we need to keep going.” He said into her ear as he dragged her around the corner.

Bass let go of Charlie as they stumbled into a run away from the house, none of them could believe what they had seen. While they were fairly certain this was entirely in their heads they were still not sure that if they died here they wouldnt die on the outside as well.

“They killed grandpa.” Charlie huffed angrily.

Miles glanced back at his niece and kept running. “I know but we have to get away, when we do we can come up with a plan on how to get out of here.” He puffed out exhausted from the running. 

“We can’t keep running Miles we need to stop, we can’t think if we keep moving like this.” Bass said from the back. The three of them slowed to a stop. “If we take a car at least we can talk and still move.” he explained gesturing to the cars around them.

“You remember how to hot wire a car cause its been almost thirty years since I did it last.” Miles asked impatiently. 

“It hasn’t been as long for me, let me see what I can do.” Bass walked up to the nearest car and tried the door handle. It didn’t open. “Hmm… Opening the door might be step one.” He muttered mostly to himself.

“Didn’t Aaron say imagine anything and it’ll pop into your hand?” Charlie asked.

Bass looked at her and looked back at the car, he looked into his hand and he had the keys to the car before him. “So smart, wish you were around when the black out started.”

Miles rolled his eyes and went to sit in the passenger seat. “Get in loser, were going on the run.” He said mockingly

“What?” Charlie asked looking from her uncle to Bass.

Bass laughed and hopped into the driver seat. “It’s a play on a line from a movie, long time ago maybe if we ever get the power back on we can watch it.”

“The longer we stay here the less I understand you two.” Charlie said sounding borderline annoyed.

Bass laughed again as he started the car and the three of them roared down the street.

“Now, lets plan.” Bass said grinning at Miles.


End file.
